Right now I feel that a few players, though I am not sure how many, have reached at least 5/6 on heroic. I was able to do that myself about 20 to 30 minutes ago. What I am noticing is that many groups are not even attempting the last boss, and honestly I understand why. It is definitely an encounter that requires coordination and communication, and the average pug will struggle right from the start. Even the first phase is enough to cause problems for a large number of players who are not prepared.
We all know that nerfs are likely coming in a week or two. They always do once enough people begin to complain that a raid is too difficult. The pattern has repeated every single tier, so it would not surprise me at all to see the same thing happen here. The question I am genuinely curious about is how people feel based on their experience so far. Do you actually want nerfs? If so, which encounters do you think need adjustments and what kind of changes would make sense?
Personally, I think the raid is in a good place as it currently stands. Both normal and heroic feel fair and well tuned. The fights are engaging, challenging, and rewarding without feeling impossible. To me, the difficulty is exactly where it should be, and the only real issue is that pugs often underestimate how much coordination is required. But that is not a reason to nerf the entire raid.
I enjoy the raid.
Some fights are too chaotic for me as a tank, but I am happy our raid leader and co-tank offer guidance where needed to pull off the kills.
I am sure as well nerfs will come eventually.
I do find the lightblinded paladins the most troublesome encounter. The fight is just too chaotic for me, same like the demon hunters were in manaforge
To me it depends on the last 2 unreleased bosses. If birdy is easier, then Alleria/Naru are fine for last 2 bosses. But if Alleria is supposed to be the first roadblock, then the fight is tuned a bit too tightly.
The best advice I can give for the Lightblinded Vanguard is to have your tanks handle the large AOE casts in a predictable way. Once you know which of the three mobs is about to use the big AOE, have one tank pull that mob to the far edge of the platform and drop it there so the consecration stays out of the group. The other tank holds one of the remaining mobs, and depending on positioning or aggro, one may drift with the tank who doing the placement, but as long as you watch the cast timers you can return to the group before anything dangerous happens. This approach keeps the arena clean and prevents unnecessary pressure on your healers and DPS.
For the sets of four big AOEs that require soaking, the easiest method is to assign each group to a specific healer ahead of time. Since these AOEs always target healers, everyone instantly knows where to stack and you avoid confusion. The most important rule is to make sure none of the soaks overlap, not even slightly.
But it’s a good fight and everyone should be in an M+ spec for the vanguard.